Thematic Panel 10

After Austerity Policies: Trends for Care and Gender Equality

Conveners:

Carmen Castro-García, Consultant. Chair in Feminist Economics. University of Valencia, Spain, and Antía Pérez-Caramés, Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology and Communication Sciences. Faculty of Sociology, University of A Coruna, Spain

Discussant:

Antía Pérez-Caramés, Senior Lecturer, Department of Sociology and Communication Sciences. Faculty of Sociology, University of A Coruna, Spain

The aftermath of the crisis as well as its response in the form of austerity measures has left many unanswered questions regarding the direction and transformation of care regimes and policies for gender equality, particularly in Southern European countries. With a priority set on following budgetary rules and reducing national debt, all countries within the Mediterranean welfare regime have witnessed an overall shrinking of their social provision (Saraceno, 2017), especially relevant in its direct and indirect consequences for the working and living conditions of women (Gálvez & Rodríguez-Modroño, 2016). Some authors claim that a reinvigorated wave of refamiliarization has swept away previous achievements in care and gender equality policies in certain Southern European countries (León & Pavolini, 2014). However, the extents of this process and its specific characteristics in different Welfare States have still not been the subject of thorough analysis.

In this thematic panel we would like to address the impact of austerity policies on public and private provision for care in European countries, as well as to analyse the emerging post-austerity trends that can be observed in policies for care and gender equality. The panel is open for contributions on either child care, long-term care and/or care for people with disabilities. We encourage papers tackling with issues such as: Which are the main changes in the different care regimes (convergence, difference, temporalities…)? How have the different structures and actors involved in care provision rearranged in this post-austerity scenario? Which care arrangements can be envisioned for a new social deal in European countries? Proposals of papers with a strong comparative focus will be particularly welcome.